When I was a young teen, my dad took a fateful business trip to Pensacola, Florida. He decided to bring the family along and make it into a beach getaway. Since then, I’ve returned faithfully during different stages of life. Now I love taking my own child to Pensacola to enjoy the sugar white sand beaches, the fresh seafood, and the gorgeous national parks. Many of you may know Pensacola as the home of the Blue Angels, but it’s so much more than that. There’s a thriving art scene, fresh seafood, an up and coming cultural festival known as Foo Foo Fest. Pensacola is also home to many attractions and beaches that make it the perfect place to vacation as a family. Whether you’re traveling with grandparents, toddlers, or teens, you’ll all find something you enjoy.
During our last trip, we were thankful to have been invited and hosted by Visit Pensacola.
48 Hours in Pensacola With Kids
Where to Stay
One of the most important parts of any vacation is knowing where to stay. We have stayed in various parts of Pensacola, but I’m a sucker for a beachfront hotel. If you love waking up to the sounds of waves and an amazing view, you will love the Hilton Pensacola Beach. The beachfront Hilton Pensacola Beach offers amenities you’ll love, including a gift shop for anything you might have forgotten, such a sunscreen. My toddler was enamored with the zero-entry kiddie pool (as were most of the other kids at the hotel!) and we adults loved the central location between the Pensacola Beach Boardwalk and the white sand beach. Hilton Pensacola Beach offers free parking and free, reliable Wi-Fi. Hilton Pensacola Beach also offers a small shop with convenience food and Starbucks brand coffee, as well as H2O Grill and Sushi Bar for finer dining. Also, while we weren’t able to confirm this, we heard that the Hilton Pensacola Beach balconies are a great place to watch the Blue Angels when they’re in town!
What to Do
The Pier at Pensacola Beach is located off the public beach area, attached to an awesome little restaurant and a fishing and tackle store. The Pensacola Beach Pier is a great place for fishing and crabbing, so it’s the perfect place for dads and grandpas to relax and unwind. My daughter was interested in fishing, so we bought her a small fishing pole and let her take a whirl! While your family is fishing, you can talk a walk up and down the pier, looking at the beautiful view. We caught the sunset from the pier one night, and it was absolutely instagrammable.
When you’re tired of the pier, you can simply walk back down to the beautiful beach and relax. The beaches of Pensacola are part of the famed Gulf Coast beaches, known for their white sand and blue water. Although we didn’t try any of it, the beaches are used for snorkeling, paddleboarding, surfing, and ocean kayaking! You can also see parasailers and other boaters further out on the water, beckoning you to dive on in. When you’re tired of swimming, the soft white sand is perfect for building sandcastles!
If the ocean is a little rough, as it was one day when we were visiting, you can always visit the beaches on Pensacola Bay. Known to locals as “the kid’s beach,” the Bay offers flat water with no waves. The sand is still beautiful, and while the water is a little less blue, it’s still clear and cool and perfect for swimming and splashing. We also encountered some wildlife at the kid’s beach– when we ventured too far out into the water, we stumbled across a stingray! This was possibly the coolest find of the trip. The Bay beach beside the Pensacola Beach Boardwalk offers pavilions and grills, as well as public bathrooms.
Pensacola Beach Pier
If your family is more of the sailing type than the lounging on the beach type, don’t worry about that either. You can explore the waterways of Pensacola with Pensacola Bay Cruises! Operating as a ferry between Pensacola, Pensacola Beach, and Fort Pickens National Seashore, Pensacola Bay Cruises has two main modes: ferrying you around so you dodge the traffic that sometimes builds up on the bridge between Pensacola and Pensacola Beach, and offering specialty cruises such as sunset cruises. A special favorite is the Blue Angels Practice Cruise, allowing you to see the Blue Angels soar overhead from a special vantage point in the water.
Speaking of national parks like Fort Pickens, Pensacola is home to several great national and state parks. A particular favorite is Gulf Islands National Seashore, a stretch of beach unspoiled by human development. Here you’ll find beautiful blue water, rolling sand dunes, and plenty of space to take long walks down the beach. Gulf Islands National Seashore is an excellent place for shell collecting– look for pink scallop shells and sand dollars. If you decide to head inland instead, you can visit Big Lagoon State Park. Big Lagoon State Park isn’t just a fun name to say, it’s also a camping and paddling destination. At Big Lagoon, you can RV camp or enjoy primitive camping, and there are biking and hiking trails. The fishing is great, and so is the crabbing. Plus, the park offers special stargazing events throughout the year.
A rainy day at the beach can be a bummer, but don’t worry. Pensacola has you covered with indoor activities too. During our trip, we took the time to check out the Pensacola Children’s Museum. A small space, it was nearly empty during our time there. A quick talk with the staff revealed that it gets much busier on weekends and during the summer, and I can see why! The bottom story is dedicated to free play, with different areas of the open room dedicated to different parts of the city’s history. From the Native Americans to the Naval Base, kids are learning as they play with replicas of food, uniforms, and tools from those time periods. Upstairs are more formal exhibits based on the Blue Angels, a STEM room with building blocks, and a whole room dedicated to maritime trade. The museum is recommended for ages ten and under.
Now, my husband is from St. Louis, so we’re obviously a family that loves baseball. A Cards game is practically a holiday. We were surprised and excited to learn that Pensacola has its own Minor League baseball team, the Blue Wahoos. A minor league game is a perfect game for families, and the Blue Wahoos are an especially great team to root for, partly because the stadium offers a Kids Zone for kids to play and explore! Not to mention, the food isn’t the typical hot dogs and cracker jacks. The Blue Wahoos stadium offers a variety of craft food for families to try. The view from the stadium can’t be missed either, as it’s situated overlooking the bay.
Near the Blue Wahoos stadium is a great place to cool off, the Plaza De Luna Splash Pad. I don’t know about your family, but we can never pass up a splash pad. Even if we’re at a beach and literally surrounded by water, my kid will make a beeline for the nearest splash pad once they see it. The Plaza De Luna Splash Pad will amuse kids with the fountains and jets of water, but it’s small enough that it won’t scare your younger kids, like some we’ve been to. Not to mention, it’s free of charge.
If you like the Plaza de Luna Splash Pad, you’ll be glad to know that the public works department of Pensacola has also created a variety of small parks throughout the city, perfect for enjoying while exploring downtown. We especially loved the Exploration Garden near Bodacious Brew, which offered a sandpit for kids to dig in, plenty of flowers to sniff and look at, and a tiny sprinkler for cooling off. It was the perfect place for a mom to relax and drink a cold brew coffee while her child spent a few minutes or hours exploring.
Although everyone in our family has different ideas of a perfect vacation, we all managed to have a blast in Pensacola. This list is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to family vacation ideas in Pensacola. Which sight would you see first?
*Blue Wahoos Photo and The Pensacola Beach Pier are courtesy of Visit Pensacola.
It looks like there are so many neat things to do in Pensacola. We have been wanting to visit Florida for a while now with the kids. This would be a lot of fun to check out.
Looks like there are so many great things to do there! Thanks for sharing. Can’t wait to go there myself!
I grew up on the coast so I always feel like the ocean is calling my name! I love staying as close to the water as possible when traveling and it’s great when you can add on some fun time to a business trip.
I love Pensacola and I love the beach! I need to go soon and put my toes in the water!
What a great little getaway! Those sunsets look absolutely gorgeous.
This looks like the vacation of my dreams. We are always dreaming of moving to Florida, but will settle for visits for now.
It’s so beautiful to watch kids playing with the sand near the sea. They have a lot of fun!
I’ve never been to pensacola but it looks like a fun place to visit. Glad you got away even if it was only a quick trip
The Pier at Pensacola Beach seems like so much fun for the whole family. Now you’re totally making me want to go on vacation – we love Florida!
I’ve heard wonderful things about Pensicola. I’d love to go there one day. I am stuck in almost the midwest, far from oceans, so enjoy! But I do have some pretty lakes and rivers to enjoy.
What a great place to take some time away from home. I love that there is so much to do while in town. The outdoorsy experience would be very nice.
Everything looks like something my family and I would enjoy. I have always wanted to go to Pensacola, maybe I need to plan a trip
So much to see and do. I would love to visit Pensacola with my family.
How fun! We’ve never been to Pensacola before. We’ll have to visit soon–it looks like there is lots to do for families!
I would go just to see that golden sunset! Gorgeous! I haven’t been to Pensacola, and I love Florida, so I have to add it to my things to do!
I’m the same way – if I’m visiting a beach town I have to stay on the beach for the sounds and amazing views. I need to visit Pensacola the next time I plan a trip to FL.
Another fun indoor place (if the weather isn’t cooperating is the Pensacola MESS Hall – Math Engineering Science Stuff – great hands on activities for all ages! They have their own parking lot. They can recommend a fun place for lunch AND your ticket is for the day so you can go to lunch or to explore a park and then had back inside (in the AC) to try a couple more activities before you head back to your hotel! If you are visiting during the school year and you have time, check the Events Calendar and/or Athletic calendar for the Escambia County School District to find more ideas for affordable and family friendly events such as concerts, plays and sporting events!